Firework
by cgl4034
Summary: The last thing Ichigo needed was another relationship. Aizen Sosuke, however, found himself intrigued by the young man. Despite his best efforts, Ichigo couldn't deny the spark between them, like a firework, bright and colourful, and impossible to ignore.


**Disclaimer: Bleach does not belong to me. The following chapter includes characters created by Noriaki "Tite" Kubo. **

**Pairing: Aizen/Ichigo**

**Summary: ****As the victim of abuse, the last thing Ichigo needed was another relationship. Aizen Sosuke on the other hand, found himself intrigued by the young man. Soon, the sparks between them became near explosive. Like a firework, too bright and loud for Ichigo to ignore.**

**Genre: Drama, romance**

**Warning: Mention of abuse**

**Rating: pg-13**

**Chapter One...**

"Shit," Ichigo murmured quietly to himself as he caught sight of his persistent ex-boyfriend hot on his tail. Clutching his passport and boarding card tightly in his right hand, he sped up, slipping in between the heavy crowd with little trouble as he tried to reach his gate in time.

A woman's voice announced the last call for boarding over the speakers and Ichigo felt like crying, realising that he was still too far away. Fearing he wouldn't make it in time, he nearly tripped over his own two feet as he cast a quick look backwards only to see that Jin had managed to shorten the distance between them. Ichigo cringed in fear as he realised what would happen should his ex reach him before he managed to board the plane.

Kariya Jin was not a person anyone would want to anger as Ichigo knew from first hand experience. He still carried the bruises from his hasty get away.

He clutched the strap of his backpack tightly in his left hand as he looked back towards the gate, his speed picking up in the process. Ichigo noted another late passenger. The passenger, a man dressed in a well tailored suit, exchanged a few words with the woman at the passport control desk, and Ichigo took in his brown hair; slicked back with a single fringe falling between his eyes. Immediately recognising the figure, Ichigo took a wild gamble as he felt a hand reaching out and grab hold of his backpack.

Moving on pure adrenaline, he hastily shrugged the backpack off, letting it fall into the hands of his ex, Jin, as he called out; "Sosuke!"

He walked as confidently as he could under the circumstances while the man in question turned at the sound of his name. "I'm so sorry I'm late. I lost track of time in the bookstore," Ichigo spoke, moving into the taller man's personal space, leaning up on the tip of his toes to kiss him.

The man seemed understandably surprised at first, but settles his hands on Ichigo's hips regardless, and didn't push him away even as Ichigo's own hands wound up around his neck. Breaking the kiss, Ichigo tried to ignore the searing tingling in his lips as he cast a quick glance over his shoulder at Jin. The man was clearly pissed off. However, Jin cared too much about appearances to make a scene, a fact Ichigo had been counting on when he'd practically thrown himself into the arms of Aizen Sosuke.

Sosuke looked down at the young, attractive man in his arms, taking in his stiff posture and the fear in his warm brown eyes as he looked back at the furious man watching them.

Interesting.

"That's quite alright. You are here now," Sosuke spoke, amused by the shock on the other's face. He had likely expected for Sosuke to refuse to play along, but it didn't take a genius to figure out that the younger one was terrified of the scowling man behind them, and Sosuke found himself intrigued by this orange haired creature who had called his name so desperately. He found himself wondering what kind of trouble he was in, though he suspected an abusing boyfriend might be it.

"Let's board the plane shall we."

Ichigo found himself nodding absently as he showed his passport and boarding card to the woman and let himself be guided towards the plane. He took one last look back at Jin, and briefly found himself mourning the loss of his backpack. He didn't have any valuables inside of it, only the money he'd managed to scrape together before he left and a few books, but the backpack had been with him since he had first left home. It held more sentimental value than anything else.

He would miss it.

"Thank you," he whispered to the other man as they walked. "I didn't mean to kiss you or use you like that, but I recognised you from the news and well..." Ichigo trailed off awkwardly as they reached the plane.

"And you were in a tight spot," Sosuke finished for him, a hand on the small of Ichigo's back as he guided him inside the plane.

Ichigo looked back at him gratefully. "Yeah. Anyway, thank you so much. I owe you one," he promised before looking down at his boarding card for his seating details, heading towards the back of the large jumbo jet. He'd been given the ticket last minute, and was slightly dismayed to see he was seated at the back. Still, he'd take what he could get as long as it took him away from America and back to Japan.

He managed about two steps before a large hand landed on his shoulder and he was spun around. He cried out and flinched back, raising his hands to protect his face automatically before realising who it was.

"Sorry," Ichigo whispered, looking down on his feet, hating himself for feeling so weak, for having let Jin gotten to him like that.

Sosuke took in the trembling form, affirming his belief that it had been an angry boyfriend earlier and that the young man in front of him was most likely a victim of abuse. Sosuke was surprised to realise he felt slight sympathy towards the younger man. He couldn't remember the last time he'd spared anyone a thought of anything resembling care or concern.

"What is your name?" he demanded, foregoing commenting on the unusual reaction, taking one thing at a time.

Ichigo looked at him surprised. "Um, it's Ichigo. Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Ichigo," Sosuke murmured, enjoying the word on his tongue. "Come with me," he ordered, grabbing the younger's hand, pulling him towards the stairs leading up the first class area. "You'll be joining me."

"But my seat is at the back of the plane," Ichigo protested, trying to tug his hand out of Sosuke's bigger, warm one. The grip wouldn't budge. It was by no means painful in any way, but it was still against Ichigo's will, and it made him cringe with the memory of Jin.

"It doesn't matter. You are my guest now. It won't be a problem," Sosuke assured, amused by the other's concern.

"Now let's get settled in. We are about to take off," he informed as he gave a subtle nod to a green eyed man walking past them down the stairs. Ichigo looked after the other man curiously. He hadn't been wearing a uniform, and was well dressed in his casual attire. Ichigo could have sworn the man had muttered a low "Aizen-Sama," as he passed them, but didn't get the chance to comment before Sosuke turned towards him, looking at him with cold, calculating brown eyes.

Ichigo suppressed a shiver at the look.

"Now, tell me why you are so afraid of that man," he requested, but Ichigo knew it was more of an order, and somehow he finally realised exactly who it was he'd roped into helping him.

Aizen Sosuke was a Japanese business tycoon and one of the riches men in the world. Ichigo would guess the chances of him being one of the most dangerous as well, were pretty high.

Ichigo didn't know all that much about him, but he'd heard the rumours and read the reports in the newspapers, as well as having seen him on television. He knew Aizen was the owner and founder of Espada Incorporation, dealing in just about everything there was to deal with.

He had recently traveled to America for a business takeover. Las Noches, some oil company at the verge of bankruptcy, if Ichigo remembered correctly. There was much speculation about the man's climb to the top, hundreds of rumours flying around about the terrible deeds and people killed to be credited to Aizen's name.

Looking at the man now, taking in his strong physique, tall figure and ridiculously handsome face, Ichigo didn't doubt for a second that Aizen didn't know how to play dirty. It was obvious he was used to getting what he wanted. He practically oozed danger and intelligence.

Ichigo fidgeted in his seat. He found the resemblance between Aizen and Jin a little too close to home, for comfort.

"It's a long story," Ichigo sighed, looking over at Aizen. They were the only people there. The area was clearly first class, looking more like an exclusive lounge than a plane. There was a bar to the right of Ichigo, tended to by the green-eyed man from before, having returned now that the plane had taken off. "Besides, it's over now. It doesn't matter anymore."

Sosuke leaned back in his comfortable leather chair and studied the teen in front of him. Having previously believed him to be in his early twenties, Sosuke now realised he couldn't yet be twenty, and found himself curious as to how old he was. He remembered the way the boy had flinched away from him earlier, and was momentarily surprised by the feeling of rage at the thought of anyone hurting the delectable creature in front of him.

He was truly exquisite. His orange hair produced an exotic look, but the rest of him was nothing short of beautiful, from his brown eyes to the tight arse Sosuke had noticed earlier. At the moment, Sosuke could see the faint outline of a bruise around one of his eyes that he hadn't noticed earlier, and again he felt himself grow angry.

"We have time. Indulge me. There must be a story behind that bruise," Sosuke spoke, his tone that of polite detachment as he watched Ichigo's eyes widened in surprise.

"I didn't think it was visible. But I suppose it makes sense, I didn't have enough time to cover it properly this time," Ichigo explained, looking away from Aizen.

Sosuke noticed the 'this time' quite clearly, and wondered how long the abuse had gone on for. Wondered why the boy had put up with it in the first place. Ichigo didn't strike him as the kind of guy who would allow himself to be mistreated in such a way.

"I was sixteen when I first came to the States," Ichigo began, staring at his shoes as he became lost in his memories. "I'm from Karakura Town in Japan, originally," he explained, smiling slightly at the thought of his hometown. "I had a fight with my dad, a big one. We both said some things...He was mad because of this guy I was seeing. I've always had a thing for older guys, but Ganryu was married, and he had a kid," Ichigo flushed with shame as he recalled his first lover.

Sosuke watched the boy intently. He was surprised by how easily he had opened up. Perhaps it was somewhat therapeutic, something he needed to talk about.

"I didn't know in the beginning," Ichigo swore, continuing with his story. "He was a teacher at my school. English literature. He was so charming and passionate about it, and then we got to Shakespeare, and he's my favourite...I stayed behind one day to discuss something about an essay I was writing, I forget what, but one thing led to another and soon enough we were sneaking around school, fooling around. He was a teacher, so we kept it from everyone, you know they frown upon teacher-student relationships. But one day this girl showed up at my house. She was from another school, said her name was Senna," Ichigo trailed off, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth.

"She was his daughter," Sosuke guessed, and Ichigo finally looked up at the other man.

"Yes," he whispered shamefully. "She was my age. Said I was ruining her family and that I needed to back off. Needless to say, my dad found out, and he was pretty angry about it. Forbid me from seeing Ganryu again. Of course I didn't care much about that, so I snuck out that night and we met up in the nearby park. He said he was sorry he never told me about his family, that he was going to leave them and that he loved me."

"You believed him," Sosuke interrupted, pitying the naive creature Ichigo must have been. Ichigo scowled at him angrily.

"Don't mock me!" he snapped. "I was in love, okay. I thought what we had was real," he sighed heavily and looked out the window. "We stayed together for a few more weeks until his wife showed up this time. She was there when I got home, had been talking to my dad. She was pregnant, said the baby would need his father and that I stood in the way of that. My dad was pissed then. He gave me an ultimatum. I could either break it off with Ganryu or I was out of there," Ichigo chuckled bitterly at the memory. "God, I didn't even hesitate. I grabbed a backpack, shoved it full of some clothes and money and walked right out the door. Didn't even say goodbye."

Ichigo drew a hand through his hair, leaning back in his chair, as if just thinking about it made him exhausted.

"I called Ganryu, and before I even got the chance to tell him I'd left home for him, he said we had to stop seeing each other. It'd been fun for a while, but real life was waiting. He hung up after saying he never wanted to see me again." Ichigo fell quiet at that, so Sosuke prodded him, "What happened next?" genuinely curious about the younger one's story.

"I was humiliated and homeless. I knew my dad would take me in, but I was so angry with him I just couldn't go back there. I needed to get away, so I took a cab to the airport and bought the first ticket out of Japan."

Sosuke raised a brow, surprised. "You had that kind of money on you?" No matter where he'd bought a ticket to, it couldn't have been cheap.

"Not in cash no," Ichigo smiled slightly. "But I had my debit card with me. I had some money saved up, so I ended up in New York with no idea what to do or where to go. I eventually got a tiny one-bedroom apartment at this awful place with a perv of a landlord who didn't really care that I was underage as long as I could pay rent every week. The money disappeared quickly and I desperately needed a job. Problem was, I was a foreigner, didn't speak the language fluently and was underaged. I had been there for three weeks and tried everything I could think of. I was down to six dollars and 73 cents after I payed for next weeks rent. I figured I was pretty much screwed, so I tailed along with some people from my building to a club one night. I might as well have some fun before the shit hit the fan, right? The bouncer lived in our building, so we all got in, no questions asked."

Sosuke chuckled at him. "Yes, indeed. When one is broke, spend your remaining dollar on alcohol and parties." Ichigo cracked a smile at him. He knew it had been stupid, but he'd been at his wits end, broke and on the verge of being homeless in a foreign country with no means to return to his own.

"Yeah, well. This club got me a job," Ichigo revealed. Sosuke took in the sudden blush that spread across his cheek and leant forwards slightly. "What kind of job?" he wondered, his tone of voice moving from polite detachment to amused indifference.

"I was dancing to this song, Baby Boy by Beyoncé, and Jin saw me."

Sosuke narrowed his eyes as he figured out where this was going. "Jin? Was that the man at the airport, the one who gave you that bruise?"

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah that was him. Kariya Jin. He owned a series of strip clubs across the state and he was scouting for dancers. I should have known back then, but I was an idiot. He was good looking, he offered me a job and he was Japanese. I guess he felt a little like home, and I needed that then. I needed the money too, and he'd pay a generous amount for having me dance in one of his club's a few nights a week."

Sosuke let his gaze roam over the boy in front of him. There was no doubt in his mind that Ichigo wouldn't make an excellent dancer. He certainly had the body for it by what he could make out through the tight jeans and simple T-shirt Ichigo had donned on. It was a simple attire, cheap. The exact opposite of Sosuke's own expensive dark suit.

Ichigo's clothes looked to have been thrown on in a hurry by the mismatching shoes he had on. It probably had, Sosuke realised, in Ichigo's haste to escape from this Jin character. He wondered what had been the catalyst for the boy to leave his abusive boyfriend. Sosuke had the feeling the relationship had gone on for some time. What had happened to make him leave now?

"So you became a stripper?" he questioned pleasantly, unable to help himself from imagining the boy in such an occupation.

Ichigo blushed prettily. "We prefer the term Exotic dancer," he said, and Sosuke couldn't stop the surprised laugh at the unexpected joke. Ichigo grinned up at him. "You have a nice laugh," he complimented. "All warm and smooth."

Sosuke stopped abruptly. He rarely laughed in front of strangers, and he never let his guard down. Schooling his expression into one of polite curiosity, he prompted, "An Exotic dancer then?

Ichigo kept the grin on his face, as if realised Sosuke made a conscious effort to stay in control of his emotions.

"I refused at first. Working in a strip club was never really an aspiration of mine," Ichigo explained dryly. "But Jin is nothing if not persistent," he shrugged. "So I started dancing, got a steady income and was even able to move to a better place after a while. Jin always made sure his dancers were safe, but there was this one guy, Mabashi, who refused to leave me alone. He broke into my apartment once, and Jin kicked him out after giving him a good beating. Jin said that it was a coincidence he was in the neighbourhood." Ichigo raised both his hands and made quotation marks in the air at the word 'coincidence.' "Said he recognised the guy from The Bounts," he continued before Sosuke cut in.

"The Bounts?" he questioned with a frown. It sounded familiar.

"Yeah, that's the name of the, franchise, I guess you could call it. Have you heard of it?" Ichigo wondered, tilting his head to one side. Sosuke's frown deepened as he thought about the name. It certainly rang a bell, but he couldn't place it. He would have to research it later.

"It sounds vaguely familiar," Sosuke admitted. "Please, go on. I am curious as to how you ended up in a relationship with this man."

Ichigo sighed as he thought about it. "I didn't realise at the time, but I'm pretty sure that Jin payed Mabashi to bother me so that Jin could play the hero. Which is what happened. I was so shocked about the break-in, and so grateful to Jin for taking care of it, that I sort developed a slight hero worship on him." Ichigo closed his eyes tiredly. He didn't want to remember how easy it had been for Jin to manipulate him into depending on him so much.

"Things progressed from there. Small things would come up and Jin would take care of it. It just made me depend on him more and more," he explained as Sosuke looked at him. "Things like what?" Sosuke questioned, fascinated by the complete lack of self preservation the boy had displayed as Ichigo scowled at the memory of it.

"Like my visa. I was only in the States on the Visa Waiver Program. Initially, I only had ninety days in the States before I had to return. Jin took care of it. Got me an I-94 card so I could stay for a few years without becoming a citizen," Ichigo revealed, and grew confused as he caught a hint of amusement on Aizen's face.

"I believe it isn't quite so easy as to just get an I-94 card, and then you're set," Sosuke interjected knowingly and watched as Ichigo's expression of confusion grew to one of annoyance.

"Look, I know okay!" he said irritably. "I was an idiot for not questioning it, and for letting myself depend on Jin so much! I was an idiot, but I can't do anything about it now." It was as if the fire seeped out of his weary body as the tension dissolved from his shoulders. He was so tired. So tired of everything, and for the first time in two years, Ichigo found himself missing his dad and younger sisters. He hadn't allowed himself to think about them much during his time in America, but now he just really wanted to go home.

Sosuke watched the emotions play across Ichigo's face as he became lost in his own thoughts. He'd been surprised at the amount of spirit in the boy. It was as if the further away they got from New York and Jin, his fire was slowly, but surely coming back.

Sosuke wasn't quite sure what made him think of Ichigo as passionate in the first place, but as he looked at the exhausted figure now, he missed the spark of life he'd seen just moments before. As if Ichigo's mental and physical state right now was an anomaly.

It was a nice thought, realising that the creature who'd flinched away from him out of fear was not the real Ichigo. That his true self was buried underneath the hurt and fear, struggling to make his way to the surface.

"It wasn't all bad," Ichigo told him suddenly. "In the beginning it was nice. Jin is a charming man, and he's smart," he shrugged.

"He was good company when he was sober. It was only when he'd been drinking, or if he got angry that things turned ugly. The first time it happened, I think maybe he was more shocked than me. It was after he didn't want me to see a friend of mine anymore. Said the only reason my friend would want to hang out with me was because he wanted to fuck me, and Jin called me a slut for stringing him along. I was so angry at him. I yelled something and then suddenly my lip was split and my chin was throbbing with pain."

Sosuke was completely still as Ichigo recounted his relationship with Jin, understanding that the boy needed to get it out without interruption.

"He cried when he apologised. Said he didn't know what came over him. That he loved me so much he couldn't stand it when others looked at me. I remember saying, 'But I work in a strip club. Men stare at me all the time.'" Ichigo smiled bitterly at the memory.

"Jin said that was different. That was work. I don't know how he figured that, but soon enough different things would set him off, and I quickly learned how mean a drunk he really was. He started controlling who I was with and what I did. He made me empty the money I had in the bank and quit my account. Made me quite the job, which wouldn't have been so bad if I'd been allowed to get another one. But Jin wanted me at home, and we had already moved in together by that time. I was trapped. I didn't have an income anymore, and didn't have a place of my own."

Sosuke had the strange feeling of want wash over him as he stared at Ichigo, listening to the words that came tumbling out of his sweet lips. He looked so completely fragile, that all Sosuke wanted was to take him in his arms and promise it would be okay.

As if a good hug could cure all of Ichigo's pain, and that was really all he needed.

Sosuke chided himself for his own silly thoughts and turned his attention back to the boy's story.

"The first time I ended up in the hospital I had a broken wrist and a concussion. I tried to run then, but he found me pretty quickly and dragged me back. This happened about four more times, and as I had no money, I never got far," Ichigo said before scowling fiercely. "I have never felt so weak before, and under normal circumstances I wouldn't have let it get so far. But I guess a part of me was already broken, and I just didn't have the energy to fight back or to stop it from happening. The whole relationship, I mean," he trailed off bitterly.

Ichigo looked at Sosuke, and the older man caught a glimpse in his eyes, an emotion he didn't recognise as he watched the boy's lips pull into a gentle smile.

"Then today, Yoshino, Jin's ex-wife showed up at the apartment," Ichigo revealed. "She shoved a plane ticket and some cash into my hands. Told me to get what was important and that we needed to leave immediately." Ichigo sighed sadly as he thought about the woman. He wondered if she was okay now, or if Jin had gotten his hands on her.

"I guess she couldn't stand the thought of someone going through the same she had," he explained.

"We were on our way out when Jin came home. He was furious." Ichigo cringed, recalling the look on Jin's face as he realised what was going on.

"Took one look at the backpack on my shoulder and the ticket in my hand before he charged at me. His fist caught my eye before Yoshino pushed him away. We ran. Got in a cab and headed for the airport as fast as we could."

Sosuke looked him over. "That's where your bruise is from?" he questioned, frowning slightly. "It bruised fast, then."

Ichigo shook his head at Sosuke's words. "I had already taken a beating the day before. He just made it worse. I usually carry make-up in my backpack to cover up the bruises, and Yoshino helped me put some on in the cab. That's why it's not covered up as well as I usually do. The taxi wasn't exactly the most stable of places," he said, grinning slightly as he remembered the driver looking at them through his rear view mirror. As a New York cab driver, he'd probably seen weirder things than a woman applying makeup on a guy.

"I had barely gotten through security when I realised that Jin was right there. When I called out your name, I could feel his hands on my backpack, and I just let him have it. He got the rest of my money and a few books, but I had the ticket and passport in my hand, thank God." Ichigo let out a relieved sigh and felt as if a load of trouble had lifted of off his shoulders.

He felt strangely good. "So that's it. That is the story of my New York adventure," he finished, yawning. He snuggled up in the comfortable chair, and closed his eyes. Glad to be away from Jin, and glad to have finally told someone of his past. "Do you mind if I sleep now. I got so tired, suddenly."

Sosuke's lips pulled up in a whisper of a smile. "By all means. You must be exhausted," he spoke, and Ichigo was asleep before he'd even finished his sentence, the boy's chest raising in an even, steady rhythm. Sosuke got up from his seat and walked over to a nearby shelf. Pulling out a blanket, he carried it over to the sleeping form. "I'll wake you when we get there," Sosuke whispered as he covered the sleeping boy with the blanket, letting his hand linger across Ichigo's striking features in a soft caress. Pulling himself away from the tempting boy, Sosuke remembered he'd never gotten his age.

His brow furrowed irritably as he watched Ichigo, wondering why his age should matter at all. He would, after all, have nothing more to do with the boy after they had reached their destination.

The plane trip would be the extent of their acquaintance.


End file.
